How do I make a bit of money?

[hubbike]

Hoping to take a year off for a long tour. Was thinking about how to earn a few pennies along the way to stretch out my finances. So far I have thought of the following:-
bar work or pot wash
busking (guitar too big for the bike so ukulele or the Harmonica?!)
Talking into a dictaphone as I travel? Radio 4 style, Podcast etc "memoirs of a cycle tourer" perhaps? Some sort of teaching aid or story?
Make Lemonade in a big keg on a trailer & sell it to people you meet in lay bys! Bit far fetched that one & means lugging vast weight long distances. Or you could just carry the lemons & sugar, stop where there's water & mix up a batch to sell to fellow travellers then move on!
Cooking up something to sell, chestnuts, banana crepes, tacos, etc.
Writing articles, selling something I could make, designing cheapo websites (but that means lugging a laptop)
Selling photos
making and selling toys, jewelry, or ‘art’ out of trash/bits of wood, stones etc
selling ice creams to people on the beach, or giving them a massage.

I figure I might sacrifice 10-15 hours a week to do a bit of work, and I will have very few overheads.
Please give me more ideas, or tell me which ones will work. Pete

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[Riding in Circles]

Casual labour on building sites and bar work, both are possible.

 

[Pottsy]

Mobile bike maintenance. Just get a sign or print some leaflets. You'll already have the tools with you.

 

[andym]

Teaching English? (TESL qualification would probably help)

 

[hubbike]

Great ideas already.
If push comes to shove I'll do some labouring/bar work. but I'd rather think up something more imaginative.
Like it Pottsy, could be a good money spinner plus improve my own repair skills.
Teaching English would serve a dual purpose too, help me brush up my Spanish.

 

[amaferanga]

Guess it depends where you are - In e.g. most of Africa you wouldn't have many opportunities.

I'd say forget about it anyway - tour for as long as you can afford and if you can't afford to tour for long enough at the moment save more money until you can. Using Africa as an example again, you could comfortably get by on about £3000 for a year.

 

[Alves]

Picking fruit or grapes in France and Italy.
There's a thing called WWOOF which is working on a farm for your food and lodging see http://www.wwoof.org/national.asp haven't done it myself but know folk who have in Oz and Europe and recommended it.
After a few months of cycling you'll have such a finely honed body, you may be able to sell it, no only joking on that one.

 

[elduderino]

I read somwhere about a guy cycling around the world who noted that once away from civilisation, he hardly needed any money. So when in need of a bit of extra cash he would, once in a city pull up at a car garage and offer to do a mornings shift washing some of the cars. Repeat from city to city.

 

[hubbike]

My plan ATM is South America. perhaps starting at the bottom (Ushuaia) and heading up along the spine of the andes to columbia and venezuela. I appreciate that in the third world people are going to consider me rich just for being a gringo, but its worth a go, no?

If I can pull it off I would like to get work on a yacht across the atlantic to save on the cost of a flight, also should be a fun adventure in itself.

I am saving up the cash (not going too shabby) but if I can make it go further (central america, USA, canada or even alaska) the more the better.

If el duderino is to believed maybe I could turn this into the start of a world tour?!

I'll take a look at WWOOF.

 

[campagman]

Have a look at this site .This guy is travelling around the world and writing a blog of his adventure. The blog has advertising space that earns him a six figure income. He'll also sell you a training course so that you can do the same.

 

[Riding in Circles]

How about prostitution?

 

[aqaleigh]

My plan ATM is South America. perhaps starting at the bottom (Ushuaia) and heading up along the spine of the andes to columbia and venezuela. I appreciate that in the third world people are going to consider me rich just for being a gringo, but its worth a go, no?



In this part of the world don't do any kind of parcel, courier work - I have come across some quite elaborate schemes for the movement of narcotics

 

[aqaleigh]

How about prostitution?

tried it - didn't pay very well - maybe thats just me

 

[tourdottk]

Hoping to take a year off for a long tour.
If you have time, you can spend longer in places and will have more chance of finding a / any job. If you just hang around for a week, forget it. And with spending a year in South America, that is likely what you are going to do, unfortunately...

bar work or pot wash
probably your best bet, but in competition with the locals (cheaper...)

busking (guitar too big for the bike so ukulele or the Harmonica?!)
Who is going to give you money in developing countries, your fellow travellers?

Talking into a dictaphone as I travel? Radio 4 style, Podcast etc "memoirs of a cycle tourer" perhaps? Some sort of teaching aid or story?
No experience with this one, but have not heard anybody being paid for it, just advertising for your trip or website.
Make Lemonade in a big keg on a trailer & sell it to people you meet in lay bys! Bit far fetched that one & means lugging vast weight long distances. Or you could just carry the lemons & sugar, stop where there's water & mix up a batch to sell to fellow travellers then move on!

Cooking up something to sell, chestnuts, banana crepes, tacos, etc.
Again, competition from the locals...

Writing articles, selling something I could make, designing cheapo websites (but that means lugging a laptop)
Writing articles: a lot of competition out there from fellow cyclists and not too many magazines / webzine / websites that pay for it. A lot of work for little money.
Building websites: who are your customers, or are people already begging you to build their site? When you are on the road, it is very hard to get any customers, apart from friends, relatives and friends of theirs. Who is going to give this job to a guy/girl who is just passing by? We managed to score some jobs in Istanbul and Agra (www.sonali.tk), but we stayed 7 weeks in both cities. It is not going to happen the day you arrive.
Money for web building: if you are going to charge western prices in developing countries, you won't get any job. So building sites for local prices, means less income than you're used to.

Selling photos
Plenty of sites on the internet you can sell your photos on... but again, a lot of competition. And a lot of work too, tagging all the photos correctly, so potential customers can find them. And then you have to be a good photographer as well....

making and selling toys, jewelry, or ‘art’ out of trash/bits of wood, stones etc
I reckon the top pick! It doesn't cost you anything, apart from some pieces of string and some clips or something (i'm not an expert here) and you are doing something creative, something unique. People might want to buy things like that. And you can do it on the beach if you want to. Just visit some resort every now and again, sell the stuff and move on. I might look into this myself

selling ice creams to people on the beach, or giving them a massage.

We have been cycling for two-and-a-half years now, and have earned some money from websites in the past and we still do some maintenance on some of them. But it's not a lot! We have just put more ads on our own travelling website, but this is still in its early stages, so we hope we can inprove our site a bit more and increase the earnings via advertisement. But again, all this can't keep us going (yet). It's just something extra. If you are going for a year only, I wouldn't worry about all this too much. Save a little longer before you go, or cut the trip short (to 9 months) and you'll have a great time and no (money making) worries!
Hope this is of any help to you,
See ya,
Aaldrik

PS about the guy that earns a six figure income: he's working 11 months a year and charges 125 dollar an hour for advice...
If you're good at something, try asking loads of money

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I was thinking similar things for a future Pan American tour...thought I might ge tone of those travel guitars and do some busking..then I realised I cant sing....so I'm left with the only viable option...sell my body as a sex slave....what you all laughing at?....